Hide in the City, Mobile Phones (2012) - Liu Bolin

Liu Bolin - Hide in the City, Mobile Phones, 2012

Photography
Chromogenic print - C-print
Edition 2/8
Artwork dimensions: 95 × 120 × 3 cm
Framed dimensions: 100 × 125 × 6 cm
Signed on the reverse
Certificate issued by Liu Bolin

Born in 1973, Liu Bolin is a Chinese contemporary artist internationally renowned for his performative photographs centered on camouflage. Nicknamed “the invisible man,” he stages himself in meticulously prepared environments, almost entirely disappearing into the scenery.

Created in 2012, Hide in the City, Mobile Phones belongs to the famous series Hiding in the City, in which Liu Bolin explores the individual’s place in contemporary society. Here, the artist blends into a wall saturated with mobile phones, becoming almost invisible amidst this accumulation of technological objects.

The work offers a powerful reflection on modern communication, overconsumption, and the effacement of identity in the digital age. The phones, arranged in a dense and repetitive mosaic, create a visual landscape that is both fascinating and oppressive. At the center, Liu Bolin’s camouflaged body appears as a silent presence, absorbed by the technological world that surrounds him.

Through this composition, the artist questions our relationship with objects, screens, and communication systems. What was meant to bring individuals closer seems here to produce a form of anonymity, even disappearance. Liu Bolin thus transforms his own body into a symbol: the human being becomes almost invisible in a universe dominated by technology, image, and consumption.

Hide in the City, Mobile Phones perfectly embodies the conceptual strength of his work. Between photography, performance, and social criticism, the work goes beyond a simple image to become a visual manifesto on our era. It creates tension between the individual and the masses, presence and effacement, connection and isolation.

Through its graphic composition, universal subject, and critical dimension, this work stands out as an emblematic piece by Liu Bolin. It offers a strong, contemporary, and engaged presence, ideal for a collection sensitive to the issues of modern society and conceptual art.

Details

Artist: Liu Bolin
Title: Hide in the City, Mobile Phones
Year: 2012
Category: Photography
Technique: Chromogenic print — C-print
Edition: 2/8
Signature: Signed on the reverse
Certificate: Issued by Liu Bolin
Artwork dimensions: 95 × 120 × 3 cm
Framed dimensions: 100 × 125 × 6 cm